Historic Holly Hotel

This two-and-a-half-story, Queen Anne-style hotel building was originally built in 1892 by John Henry Hirst, who named it the Hirst Hotel. It was the social hub of the village of Holly, located adjacent to a busy railroad line that brought 25 trains a day through the town at its peak. The hotel has survived several major fires and has been named at various times the Hirst House, Allendorf, Holly Inn, and Holly Hotel. The hotel was famously visited in 1908 by temperance crusader Carrie Nation, who clubbed hotel patrons with her umbrella and began smashing whiskey bottles with a hatchet. The dining room of the hotel has been patronized by every Michigan governor since 1979, and hosted President and Mrs. George H. W. Bush in 1992. The Historic Holly Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

John Henry Hirst (1857-1929) was the proprietor of the Exchange Hotel in Holly, which was destroyed by fire in April 1892. Hirst announced that he would rebuild immediately, this time planning an elaborate brick hotel. The Pontiac Gazette noted on June 24, 1892: “Holly is to have a fine hotel. J. H. Hirst has his plans all laid for building on the site of the burned hotel.” On June 30, 1892, the Detroit Free Press carried the following report from its Holly correspondent: “John H. Hirst closed a contract today with George Stanard of Flint, and John Lane, of this place for the building of a new three-story brick hotel to cost $16,000. The building will be modern in every particular and the finest hotel in Oakland County. The contractors agree to have it completed in 100 days.”

Soon after the turn of the twentieth century, John Hirst experienced some major life changes. His wife, Lydia, died in 1903, and he remarried in 1904. Hirst then sold his hotel in August 1906, and it changed hands twice in the same week. The Flint Journal reported on August 14, 1906: “The Hirst hotel, which was built fourteen years ago by James [sic] Hirst, has changed hands twice in the past week. Mr. Hirst sold it to Alfred Jones, of Flint, last week, and yesterday Mr. Jones transferred the place to F.W. Johnson, the consideration being about $15,000. Mr. Jones has been running the hotel for the last two years under lease.”

A fire in July 1907 destroyed the hotel’s roof and did $5,000 damage, including furnishings that were damaged by smoke and water. A few weeks later, the Milford Times reported that the name of the Hotel Hirst at Holly had been changed to the “Holly Inn.”

A more serious fire occurred on January 19, 1913. The Flint Journal reported, in part, as follows:

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Fire which is believed to have originated in a clothes chute where someone carelessly threw a match, totally destroyed the Holly Inn here yesterday. The estimated loss is $20,000, of which only $8,000 was covered by insurance.

The fire had worked its way up the elevator shaft to the third floor before being discovered. The flames were noticed by several persons at the same time, and when the fire department reached the hotel the roof was ablaze.

The hotel was a brick structure, built in 1892. It was owned by Mrs. Marie Powell, of Pontiac, and conducted by Otis Kennedy. Very little furniture or clothing was saved from the fire, and several of the guests had narrow escapes.

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About four months after the fire, the Flint Journal reported that the new owner of the hotel was Joseph P. Allen, who had been granted a liquor license for the establishment he was going to rebuild. The newspaper said, in part: “The only license will be granted to Joe P. Allen, who will rebuild the Holly Inn which burned last winter. He will run the business in the hotel. Work on the new building will be commenced in about three weeks and he expects to have it completed in four months.”

Allen rebuilt the hotel with a lower profile, and took off the top story of the corner tower. He renamed the hotel The Allendorf. Allen, who was also a Detroit saloon operator, leased out the operation of the Allendorf Hotel. After Michigan enacted Prohibition, Allen returned to Holly to shore up the hotel business by adding a movie theater and ice cream parlor to make up for the loss of business from the now-shuttered hotel bar.

Exactly 65 years to the day from the 1913 blaze, the interior of the hotel was again destroyed by fire. The cause was determined to be faulty wiring. Following the fire, owner George Kutlenios lovingly restored the building to its 1892 appearance and reopened it as a fine dining establishment. The hotel reopened as the Historic Holly Hotel in 1979. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The hotel was seriously damaged by a multi-alarm fire that involved several buildings in downtown Holly on June 21, 2022.

“Holly is to Have a Fine Hotel,” Pontiac Gazette, June 24, 1892, p.1.

“New Hotel at Holly,” Detroit Free Press, June 30, 1892, p.3.

"United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS9K-PZV : accessed 26 October 2020), John H Hirst, Holly village, Oakland, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 89, sheet 10A, family 259, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,735.

“Sold Twice in One Week,” Flint Journal, August 14, 1906, p.1.

“Holly Hotel Scorched,” Detroit Free Press, July 20, 1907, p.2.

“The Hirst Hotel at Holly was Nearly Destroyed…,” Oxford Leader, July 26, 1907, p.1.

“The name of the Hotel Hirst…,” Milford Times, August 3, 1907, p.5.

“Holly Inn is Burned with $25,000 Loss,” Detroit Free Press, January 20, 1913, p.6.

“Fire Destroys Holly Inn with Loss of $20,000,” Flint Journal, January 20, 1913, p.10.

“Holly Repeals Liquor Ordinance,” Flint Journal, May 3, 1913, p.6.

Ishoy, Ron, “January 18: Bad Day for Holly Hotel,” Detroit Free Press, January 19, 1978, p.6A.

Hirst Hotel, Holly, Michigan, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, National Archives and Records Administration, RG-72, listed 8 February 1980.

Sanborn Map Company. Fire Insurance Map of Holly, Oakland County, Michigan, December 1921, plate 3.